Is California’s employment growth about to slow down? A handful of indicators seem to say yes.

California’s jobless rate dropped again in April as the state’s economy added more than 10,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is now 9.0 percent, 1.7 percent lower than a year ago.

But the April jobs numbers were significantly lower than previous months. California added 68,100 workers between January and March, bringing the total to 273,100 new jobs over the past year. That makes April’s job growth seem relatively weak.

Some economists saw it coming. The monthly ADP Regional Economic Report found that California added only 2,690 nonfarm private sector jobs in April, significantly lower than the official numbers released by the federal government and the state’s Employment Development Department. And local analysts also see slower growth for Sacramento. A recent quarterly report from the Center for Strategic Economic Research, a local research firm, predicts job growth for the capital region will continue slowing through June.

Why the bump in California’s road to economic recovery? One probable cause is federal budget cuts known as sequestration, which started in March, and sluggish international trade, especially in China where that country’s domestic market is predicted to cool off. In a press conference last week, Gov. Jerry Brown pointed to those factors as big reasons why he was scaling back the state’s revenue projections for this year.

Then again, there’s also reason for hope. California’s job numbers fluctuate on a monthly basis, but the state has added 757,200 jobs since the economic recovery began in February 2010. And just for some perspective, the job market actually contracted by 17,000 nonfarm jobs in December before adding a paltry 1,700 jobs in January. In other words, job growth can surge and wane on a month-to-month basis and not indicate an overall trend.

Finally, the Center for Strategic Economic Research predicts regional job growth will bounce back by September and grow 2.4 percent. The state’s nonpartisan number crunchers at the Legislative Analyst Office also think Brown is being too conservative. Put it all together and there’s ample evidence that California may experience slower job growth, but still continue to add more workers during the rest of 2013.